Texas should adopt a personal income tax. Politicians in Texas have throughout history enforced the “low taxes, low services” credo. It is believed that mentioning “rising taxes” is political suicide for a politician in Texas. However, in my opinion the majority of the states’ population could benefit greatly form a state government that is willing to provide more services.
Currently, for an individual, Texas is a low tax state. Ranking 48th in terms of taxes paid by an individual according to income. Texas relies heavily on sales and property tax to make up for their lack of personal income tax.
The tax system in Texas is considered “regressive”, meaning that the tax system takes a larger percentage from low-income people than from high-income people. Thus affecting low-income families harder.
In the next two years, the deficit in Texas is estimated to run as high as 25 billion dollars. This has caused major cuts in public education and Medicare funds. Texas already has some of the lowest SAT scores and some of the highest number of uninsured residents in the nation.
I believe that our state should provide better education and health benefits for its citizens. An individual’s income tax could be used to gather the necessary funds to provide these services. I am not ignorant to the fact that people do not like the idea of raising taxes. Realistically, people want to take home the money they work hard for. Yet an individual’s income tax should be higher for higher-income individuals; therefore benefiting the rest of the population that does not enjoy the privilege of wealth.
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After reading a co-students article regarding her belief that the State of Texas should impose a state income tax I decided to do a little research of my own. I read an article that stated, “The Texas tax system transfers a higher share of income from the private to the public sector over time as income rises.” My co-student’s main reasoning for imposing a state income tax is that she believes our system is regressive and that the state is not collecting enough money to support its citizens. After reading some facts and viewpoints of others I don’t agree with her opinion.
Texas has a high sales tax rate. Additionally, Texas has the second highest tax rate on properties. The money that is collected from the property taxes funds our educational system. My co-student claimed that a state income tax would “provide a better education” for its citizens. It seems to me that we are already supplying our state with the necessary funds for a “better” educational system. I believe the flaw that we should be fighting with our government about is what they are in fact doing with the money that they have been supplied. Just throwing more money at the problem is not a solution. That would be like giving a drug addict more drugs. We need to hold our government accountable to the promises that they make. More everyday citizens need to stand together and insist that “our” money be spent on the things we deem important… like education and health benefits.
As proud as most Texans are about paying nearly the least amount of taxes in the United States, an increasing State deficit is rearing its ugly head, causing lay offs and closures of schools and other subsidiaries of Texas tax dollars.
Considering the exponential growth of the Lone Star State, our archaic tax system that only benefits higher income communities, and the increasing deficit within the State, it's my opinion that tax reform is necessary. I agree with Sandoval's position on Texas' responsibility to take care of its citizens by providing a fair and equal tax code for all Texans. The current regressive taxation is right in line with the conservative status quo, promoting enterprise over the needs of the lower income populous.
Alone, income tax will not solve the growing State deficit, but it would at least provide a centralized pool of tax dollars to be distributed across the State’s counties as needed. Currently, lower income counties across Texas continue to struggle due to their low tax revenue, while larger, more affluent communities thrive and can afford services due to the higher tax revenue brought in.
A personal income tax across the state would eliminate any disparities on tax revenue brought in by counties if the State focused on income rather than the property owned. There are always unintended consequences in any reform, but this at least focuses on all working Texans and not just property owners. With the emphasis on income, property taxes can be lowered, and Texans can also receive State returns along with Federal.
Again, there are plenty of arguments against this option, but it’s my opinion, and the opinion of many others who prefer a fiscally responsible government, dedicated to its people, regardless of race, religion or affluence.
M. Sandoval writes a blog called Texas Economy and Politics on Google Blogger. On Oct. 28, 2011 she wrote an entry titled “Personal Income Tax in Texas” in which she expresses her belief that Texas should indeed implement an income Tax. I for one enjoy not having that income tax taken out of my paycheck but after learning of all the budget cuts to public education, I would gladly accept an income tax here in Texas. The 2012-2013 budget for public education is being cut by $4 billion. That means more teachers will lose their jobs, class sizes will increase, programs will be cut and some schools will be closed all together. Taxation in order to increase funding for public education is why I agree with implementing an income tax in Texas.
Sandoval writes that the current tax system in Texas is regressive, which by definition is true. She also wrote, “Yet an individual’s income tax should be higher for higher-income individuals; therefore benefiting the rest of the population that does not enjoy the privilege of wealth.“, which I disagree with. I don’t believe a person should pay a higher percentage of taxes because they make more money. 7 percent of $50,000 is $3,500 in taxes compared to 7 percent of $10,000 which is $700. The person making more money ends up paying more in taxes anyway. Consequently they pay more in sales and property taxes as well. On the same note, individuals with children get a tax break for each child they have. So a person who has succeeded in working their way up from the bottom and has no children would end up paying a lot more in taxes to benefit individuals who might not even work but have several children.
Sandoval concluded with the statement that it would benefit “ the rest of the population that does not enjoy the privilege of wealth“, which could have been left out. The article then went from implementing an income tax in order to benefit public education and health care to implementing an income tax in order to benefit people who don’t make as much money.
It seems like most everyone is talking about the expected cuts in government funding of public schools and saying that we should not cut the funding, but not many are giving suggestions on how we could prevent that from happening. With this coming budget deficit there aren't too many options afforded to the government and even less money to go around. Obviously no one wants their programs cut and the lobbyists are hounding the current legislatures to gain support for their programs.
The current Robin Hood plan spreads the school financing throughout the property-wealthy school districts and the property-poor school districts in order to keep school financing equitable. Megan Fisher believes that "we are already supplying our state with the necessary funds for a "better" educational system", while M.Sandoval believes "Texas should adopt a personal income tax". For most Texans the mere mention of a personal income tax incites anger and opposition and is a subject that would most likely destroy the career of any politician, but maybe it is about time to take a look at this option, especially for those who are demanding that public school funding not be cut. The only viable way I see to prevent cuts in public school financing is the increase revenue and the current Robin Hood plan has funded a large part public school finances, but public schools are still under funded. Megan thinks that the current plan provides enough funds for a "better" education system, but I contend that the property values across Texas have dropped therefore reducing the amount of property tax across the table to fund our school systems. As far as "better" goes, I think a bit more research and comparison needs to be done on your part. The Robin Hood system in Texas tries to finance schools in Texas equally, but the education is nowhere near equal from district to district. We Texans pride ourselves on southern hospitality, but when it comes to helping the less fortunate why are we getting stingy over a few more dollars out of each of our pockets?
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